Two charged in Millcreek bank robberies

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A man and a woman in jail on charges related to a pair of Erie bank robberies have been accused by Millcreek Township police of robbing a pair of banks in their community late last week.

Anthony J. Herrmann, 34, is accused of robbing the PNC Bank branch at 5001 Peach St. on Friday at 10:13 a.m., and the Northwest Savings Bank branch at 850 Pittsburgh Ave. on Saturday at 11:35 a.m.

Police allege that Herrmann, who is listed as homeless, passed a note to tellers at both banks that demanded money and warned them against giving him dye packs or setting off alarms, according to the criminal complaint filed Wednesday.

Erin M. Anderson, 27, of the 100 block of Hess Avenue in Erie, is accused of driving Herrmann to the banks, and waiting in the car while he committed the robberies, according to the complaint.

The criminal complaints filed against them don't state the amount of money taken from the banks.

Millcreek police wrote in the affidavit of probable cause accompanying the complaints that Herrmann and Anderson admitted to committing the robberies when they were questioned by Erie police Sunday night in relation to two city bank robberies.

The two also admitted to committing robberies at the Erie Bank branch at West 10th and Peach streets and the First National Bank branch on East Grandview Boulevard on Nov. 8, according to the affidavit.

Herrmann and Anderson were arraigned and jailed on charges in the Erie bank robberies on Monday.

The investigation that led to them being questioned and charged was launched on Sunday afternoon, when Erie police officers were called to the Downtown Erie Hotel on West 18th Street to check on the welfare of a guest there.

Kenneth Hubbert, 28, of Erie, was found dead in one of the rooms.

Police said they learned during the investigation that Herrmann and Anderson were among the people who had visited Hubbert at the hotel, and the two were picked up and questioned later that evening.

TIM HAHN can be reached at 870-1731 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNhahn.